Petrified Forest

Park #10 Visited 09/08/20

From Wikipedia – This portion of the Chinle Formation has a large concentration of 225-million-year-old petrified wood. The surrounding Painted Desert features eroded cliffs of red-hued volcanic rock called bentonite. Dinosaur fossils and over 350 Native American sites are also protected in this park.

Established: 12/9/1962
Annual Visitors: 644,922
Size: 221,390 acres

Elizabeth:

Our Adventure Started Before We Even Left!

Sunday September 6.2020: To-do lists were all over the dining room table. “We leave tomorrow!” Both Gary and I repeatedly stated.

Today was quite an adventure even though tomorrow is when the adventures are supposed to start! We went to a local Budget office to pick up our rental mini-van. Since it was financially a good deal, unlimited mileage, oil changes and maintenance covered we decided a rental made more sense than putting 8000 miles on one of our own vehicles. The van they gave us was quite dirty inside but after telling the manager about the trash, spilled milk, and dirt inside the van we agreed we would clean it ourselves since there wasn’t another van for us to take at that location. When we started the engine the low air pressure light came on. Then there was no jack and the employees didn’t know where the spare tire was on that vehicle. We also had previously requested a vehicle that had just been serviced so we wouldn’t need to worry about changing the oil for a while. This one needed service in 1,000 miles. Can anything else go wrong? We decided to go to the airport and exchange the van for another one after talking to Budget Corporate on the phone. We hadn’t even driven the car yet! On the way out of the Budget parking lot Elizabeth got into a minor accident. Mutual bad lane changing situation. The police came and we reported everything to our insurance company. The other vehicle took all the damage with the rental just getting scratched, no one was hurt. We called Budget back and explained the situation and they still offered us a replacement.

We then headed to the airport to exchange the van. The people there were super helpful and accommodating. Ironically the same area of the original van had been damaged previously to us renting it and was marked on our paperwork that way, so we showed the manager the scratches and he was not concerned. They gave us a much nicer, 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan, dark grey, upgraded wheels with all the bells and whistles. Phew, what a day! All is good.

Monday, Labor Day, September 7, 2020

**I am going to hide in your suitcase if you try and leave without me.**

The house is all packed up, our son Cooper and his wife Chelsea will get the mail, check on the house and yard. Rubbermaid bins, cardboard boxes, suitcases, large water container, dog crate and more! Destination: Holbrook, AZ. Staying at the Holbrook EconoLodge where there is a dog park nearby.

The ride from Phoenix, as we got closer to the Petrified Forest, is flat, treeless, and sad remnants of this year’s recent fires burning thousands of acres. The fate of the famous saguaro cacti in these charred areas is yet to be written.

Rangeley did a super job in his kennel in the back of the van behind Gary’s seat. Tomorrow, Petrified Forest!

Tuesday September 8, 2020

Holbrook, AZ is quite the step back in time. The Wigwam Motel literally has tepees for rooms and were hosting 1950’s car enthusiasts over the Labor Day weekend, complete with an Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile! There are tons of lodging options from one-off motels to the chain hotel’s moderate selections. There are rock and gem shops galore. But we are seeing abandoned businesses and the town is quiet. The area of Holbrook we saw on Navajo St/Ave(?) looks like what you would expect a small 1950’s traditional western town to have… hand painted business signs; lots of Mexican restaurants; Native American, still called “Indian” , stores filled to the brim with art like Navajo woven baskets and blankets, agate, crystal and turquoise jewelry, and wood carvings. The town is just off I40 on the historical Route 66 which has been just about abandoned due to the interstate. Disney’s “Cars” depicts the Route 66/Interstate saga…great movie but some sad messages touching on what road progress can do to small towns. We are glad to be spending money on lodging and food to help the economy in any little way we can on this trip.

**At the Holbrook dag park, just off Route 66**

The ride through the national park was a geological wonder. But the thought of this area once being a dense forest with fast flowing rivers and dinosaurs in abundance is humbling to say the least. The locals have dinosaur statues all around the town.

We drove to the south visitors center gift shop to get our collectible pin, post card and ink stamp in our National Parks book and Rangeley got a B.A.R.K. Ranger dog tag and “badge”/sticker! B. bag your poop, A. always wear a leash, R. respect wildlife, and K. know where you can go. Too cute! We stopped to walk on a few trails as Petrified Forest N.P. is all dog friendly except inside buildings. See our pictures of the petroglyphs, petrified wood and amazing layers of million-year-old sediment hills. We drove to the north visitors center and continued on to Gallup, NM where we are staying at the Super 8 on Route 66.